I don’t fly much and I was wondering if anyone knew how to tell/where to watch if there is some chance weather would cause flight cancellations.
I’m scheduled to fly in on Laborday, and at this moment it seems something may be brewing in south florida to the gulf coast. The National Hurricane Center forecast only goes 5 days out, so it’s possible things will clear up in time… but when do I consider making other plans. Will flights generally still go in/out if it’s just thunderstorm-like conditions? How about tropical storms? How far away do hurricanes need to be in order to not be a factor…
I have a southwest non-refundable fare, but I can consider cutting the loss and driving instead (if it is safe enough to do that…)
there’s nothing in advance that will tell you if you’re likely to be delayed/cancelled… this one if out of your hands. You just have to go to the airport and hope for the best. If your flight is cancelled you will be rescheduled on another flight, they will not just take your money and not atempt to get you to your destination. I’m not exactly sure what the policy is if it you don’t choose to take the rescheduled flight with your fare–the kind people at SWA will be able to honestly tell you what your options are at the time of rescheduling. Flights will take off and land in rain and most windy conditions. They will be grounded in the event of lightning–there is a designated mile-radius that if lightning is detected, they will ground the plane (I’m not sure if it’s 20, 50, or 100 miles… could be as little as 10 miles, honestly).
Best advice is to reassess 24 hours prior to the flight. See what the weather is looking like then. Remember, hurricanes/storms do turn at the last minute!
OK. Thanks so much. I was under the impression that if the flight was cancelled I was basically left towards using my credits to find another flight at current market rates (I got super good prices, so the credits would not likely cover another flight).
Do not worry too much. I have flown a lot out of Tampa as I visit my parents there. Many times while I am waiting there is a lightening storm. Planes can land. They will be held on the tarmac until it is safe. No ground crews can be out in those conditions. And you cannot cross the jet bridge in those conditions.
Pilots can fly in rain snow lightening and some wind. What will divert your flight is high winds. But the airlines will help you find a new flight.
I flew to.MCO racing hurricane Katrina. Planestled can fly different routes to get to a destination to avoid weather patterns. More of a problem arises when planes can’t leave due to storms and not being available for the next flight.
I’m going down in January and took into consideration that being in the Mid-Atlantic, there’s always the potential we could have a snow storm here. I also booked my flight with Southwest for one reason - that they don’t charge you to change your flight. I plan on be preemptive. If a snow storm is headed towards us, my friend and I plan on moving our flight up a day and getting out of dodge before the storm. So keep a close on the weather and have a plan of what other flights you might be able to switch to. Even fly out the day before or the night before you were originally planning to in order get ahead of the storm. At least then you’ll already be at Disney when/if it hits and can commence with vacation fun as soon as the storm passes.